Grunge Typography - Stained Typefaces - Digital Collage - CorelDRAW - Picasa 3 - PhotoPaint - Filter Forge

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Grunge storytelling is the topic for the image of the day. I opened Picasa 3 and went to one of my folders containing some of my grunge backgrounds. Using the Ctrl key I selected seven grunge textures and made a large Collage of them. I saved that file and opened CorelDRAW.

I pasted the large image into CorelDRAW and made it fit an 8" x 10" size. I opened my web browser and went to Fillerati.com and selected some text from Edgar Rice Burroughs At the Earth's Core.

I added the text to the image, using for the background text paragraph the Bedini typeface, I force justified the yellow text. I liked the phrase at the end of the paragraph and copied that for the large text.

"His attitude was of one who waits for the miracle to come to him," I thought was an interesting phrase. I selected the typeface Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold and enlarged it. I set it at force justify and small caps in black.

I duplicated the phrase and made it white and offset it from the black type. I saved the large file and resampled it to use online. To add the grunge look and feel as even more evident I used Filter Forge's Photo Effects Grunge and tested out varying effects. I selected to lessen the grunge increase the stains and applied it to the whole image.

As an aside topic, I got out my Seagull 12-String guitar the other night and tuned it to an open "G" tuning that I've never used before. G G D G B D is the string set up for this tuning. I did some improvising making up chords and using a couple I had found. After a long dry spell musically it was enjoyable to be playing again!



Listening to: Abra Moore - Four Leaf Clover

Two Digital Collages - Paint.NET - PhotoPaint

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I had a couple of more photographs of my Grandson and my Daughter and I decided to do two digital collages with them. I opened with Paint.NET and selected Effects> Collage Paint for the first image and it allows selection of a folder of images, along with the size of the collaged images. I made my adjustments to the selections and let the collage build with images of guitars and other images.

On the second image I opened Paint.NET again and selected a folder full of photographs of my grandson. These made the collage image, if you look closely at the larger images you can see some of that detail.

As the second image's background was dominate I opened with Painter 11 and used the Suminagashi grainy brush on the background. I saved the large file and reopened in PhotoPaint. I used the selection tool to select the background and applied the Local Equalization tool to it. It made the image of my Grandson stand out more.

For both I used the Tone Curve to make adjustments to color depth and saved the large files. Then I resampled to a smaller size for the web. I added my signature to both and saved the smaller file sizes.

Listening --- Pink --- Family Portrait

Long Time Friends - Painter 11 - PhotoPaint - Filter Forge

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"Long Time Friends," is the title of today's image. We had the pleasure of visiting with some friends that we haven't spent time with for many years. This began as a photograph of my wife and our friend Jim. The photograph was taken with my Canon XTi Rebel DSLR.

I first opened with PhotoPaint and used the Local Equalization feature on it. Then I applied the Tone Curve to it to give it some depth of color. So I started with a High Contrast photographic image.

I save this large file and opened with Painter 11, did a Quick Clone and selected the Straight Cloner brush. I painted in the two figures that had the High Contrast look and feel. I did not want the details of the background to dominate the image so I selected the Suminagashi 2 Grainagashi brush and painted in the entire background with the clone button on.

I Applied a surface texture to the image and did an iterative save of the piece. I reopened it in PhotoPaint where I applied Filter Forge's Photo Effect Grunge for additional look and feel and a frame. I selected differing variants before I settled on  one.

I saved this iteration and then resampled for the web and saved the final with my signature.

Listening --- James Taylor --- You've Got A Friend

Painter 11 Portrait - Corel PhotoPaint - Picasa 3 - Filter Forge

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I recently spent some time with my Grandson and took a few Photographs of him. I browsed in Picasa 3 to the dated folder containing these and selected one closeup. I went to Create Picture Collage in Picasa 3 and created a large file of the closeup as a single image in the collage.

I opened the image in Painter 11 and did a Quick Clone to duplicate the image ready to paint. Using the Auto Van Gogh brush I applied it to the clone. Afterward I wanted to push the background to the back visually so I chose the Grainy Water Blender and painted the background with it.

I decided it need more grain so I selected a Suminagashi 2 Grainagashi brush and painted on the background with the clone tab selected.  I also applied the Soft Cloner Brush to the eyes and then used the Grainagashi brush around the eyes and mouth and nostrils.

To bring out more clarity in detail for the eyes I selected the Straight cloner brush and painted the iris and pupil.

I saved this very large file as a jpg format. I closed Painter 11 and using Picasa 3 went to the folder where I had saved it and opened with PhotoPaint. I resampled the image for the web. Using Filter Forge's frames I added a small frame variation with rounded corners and three colors, adjusting the width of each color. I saved that file as a jpg with my signature as an iterative save.

Listening --- Led Zeppelin --- The Rain Song

Digital Pen and Ink - Watercolor - Corel Painter - CorelTRACE - CorelDRAW

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I found another detailed sketch of a brick house that I drew. A house on Walbridge Dr. in East Lansing, Michigan. I scanned it in with my Canon All In One in 24-bit RGB format. I saved the file and opened PhotoPaint. There I converted to a 8 bit black and white image and did an iterative save.

I opened that black and white image in CorelTRACE and traced it into a cmx CorelDRAW file. Saving that iteration I opened it in CorelDRAW. I cleaned up some of the outlines I did not want. I selected the entire house and grounds and made the pen lines thicker for more impact. So I had a pen and ink style piece to work with. I saved that as a 24-bit RGB 300dpi tif file.

I opened it with Painter from Picasa 3's gatzkART3 folder. I selected watercolor brushes to paint it. I kept the colors simple and then I used the select tool to select the wood and used Apply Surface Texture> Simulated Wood Grain>. I used a different texture for the brick.

I saved it as a tif file and then I dropped all Layers and saved as a large jpg. This image I opened in PhotoPaint and placing a black border I added my signature and resampled for display here.

Listening --- Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young --- Our House

Overcoat - 223 - Firehose - Store Front - Book - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint

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Busy again tomorrow I have posted a second time today. I have been scavenging pieces of found art for collage work. I discovered these images torn from a large format LAN magazine from the late 1980's.

I opened PhotoPaint and scanned in five images using the built in Tone Curve to deepen the color of each scan. I copied to the clipboard and pasted into CorelDRAW and resized placed each one into a collage. I placed a black rectangle around them. Grouping them I copied to the clipboard again and opened as New from Clipboard into PhotoPaint.

I added the text naming each piece after it's subject matter with the exception of the "Open" image. I used the typefaces Orpheus Demo - Overcoat; Time New Yorker - 223; FuturaBlack BT - firehose; and DirtyUncle - book, adding each one to the finished piece.

I resized the image for display and added my signature to complete the collage.

Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka --- After Midnight Cover

Cup Saucer and Silverware Freehand Design - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint

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I found an old sketch I had done, from 1998 and I scanned it into PhotoPaint. Copying it to the clipboard I opened and pasted it into CorelDRAW.

Using the freehand tool I traced the objects, deleted the scanned sketch, and then filled them with gradients of varying color. I added the text using an AvantGarde Md BT typeface with the exception of the number sixty-six for which I used Adolescence.

I again used fillerati.com for the text in Deutsch from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. I force justified the text and sized it to fit the object. I added a black border and then a table top with the polyline tool.

After I placed all objects in order, I grouped them and copied to the clipboard.

Back in PhotoPaint I opened as New from Clipboard and saved the large file. I resampled for display and added my signature.

Listening --- Mike and the Mechanics --- Another Cup of Coffee

Vintage 1987 Foodland Advertisement - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint - Filter Forge

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Will be busy tomorrow so I am posting a new graphic image as a second one for this evening. We were cleaning house and getting ready to rid ourselves of some old frames. One frame we found, pasted to the back of a clued together puzzle, was a 1987 newspaper advertisement for Foodland Markets.

We had to break the puzzle into pieces, it was not worth saving and I took some of the smaller pieces and opened PhotoPaint and scanned them in with my Canon All in One.

I had to both use Sharpen on some pieces and Tune Blur on others. I saved each piece individually. I opened CorelDRAW and began to import the pieces and resize and place them on the framework.

I also imported one of Mayang's Textures and placed it behind the grouping. I grouped this all together. Then I copied to the clipboard and opened as New from Clipboard in PhotoPaint.

There I applied the Tove Curve to add depth and upped the saturation to boost the red of the advertisement. I used Filter Forge's frames for a film frame to finish the image with my signature.

Notice that 1) I recycled the old art puzzle and it's advertisement and 2) circled the year and the Every day Low Prices phrase.

This is not meant to be a pretty piece of digital art, but an effort at recycling and a statement about the high cost of living and how it has changed since 1987. I resized the image for display here.

Listening --- Pink Floyd --- Money

At Complete Demoralisation - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint - Filter Forge

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This image is entitled "at complete demoralisation," was created in CorelDRAW and adjusted in PhotoPaint. I followed the same basic steps as I had with my last two images. I like the motif and decided to do another image like them.

I opened CorelDRAW and imported from my Fractals folder three differing modified fractals. I resized them and placed them.

I went online to fillerati.com and copied a partial quote from H. G. Wells, "War of the Worlds," and placed that on the imported fractals. I used the typeface Benguiat Bk BT for the text phrase. I forced justified the full quote, using the color navy blue.

I added a portion of the quote in large text and placed it on top the image, this time straight across the page. I duplicated that quote in a Cyan color to offset from the black. This was center justified. I also set the character spacing at 33 and the line spacing at 85 percent respectively.

I grouped the pieces together and copied to the clipboard. I opened PhotoPaint and pasted as New from Clipboard then saved large file, closing CorelDRAW. I then resampled the file for display.

I went into Filter Forge's Photo Effects Grunge and selected a variant. I adjusted the stains and amount of texture for that grunge look and feel, without overpowering the image. This also placed a frame around the full piece.

I added my signature to complete the piece. I saved the image to share here.

Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka ---When Our Eyes Met

As Soft As the Stuff They Sailed Upon - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint - Filter Forge

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This image is entitled "as soft as the stuff they sailed upon." was created in CorelDRAW and adjusted in PhotoPaint. I followed the same basic steps as I had with yesterday's image.

I opened CorelDRAW and imported from my Mayang's Textures folder three differing texture photographs. I resized them and placed them.

I went online to fillerati.com and copied a partial quote from Edgar Rice Burroughs, and placed that on the imported textures. I used the typeface Abadi MT Condensed Extra Bold for the text phrase. I forced justified the full quote, using the color green.

I added a portion of the quote in large text and placed it on top the image, this time at an angle. I duplicated that quote in an orange color to offset from the light yellow. This was left justified.

I grouped the pieces together and copied to the clipboard. I opened PhotoPaint and pasted as New from Clipboard the large file, closing CorelDRAW. I then resampled the file for display. And from my Dover Clip Art folder I added a Vintage young lady image.

I went into Filter Forge's Photo Effects Grunge and selected a variant. I adjusted the stains and amount of texture for that grunge look and feel, without overpowering the image. This also placed a frame around the full piece.

I added my signature to complete the piece. I saved the image to share here.

Listening --- The Beatles --- Yellow Submarine

I Cannot Interrupt the Trip - Grunge - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint

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The image entitled "I Cannot Interrupt the Trip," was created in CorelDRAW and adjusted in PhotoPaint.

I opened CorelDRAW and imported from my Rust Textures folder four differing rusty texture photographs. I resized them and placed them with the last one being put on an angle.

I went online to fillerati.com and copied a partial quote from Jules Verne, and placed that on the imported textures. I used the typeface Benard MT Condensed for the text phrase. I forced justified the full quote, using the color yellow.

I added the portion of the quote in large text and placed it on top the image. I duplicated that quote in a brown color to offset from the white, lending more interest to the large text. This was left justified.

I grouped the pieces together and copied to the clipboard. I opened PhotoPaint and pasted as New from Clipboard the large file, which I saved.

I went into Filter Forge's Photo Effects Grunge and selected a variant. I adjusted the stains and amount of texture for that grunge look and feel, without overpowering the image. This also placed a frame around the full piece. I saved the large image.

I resampled and added my signature to complete the piece.

Listening --- The Beatles --- Day Tripper

High Contrast Garden - Lilies - PhotoPaint - Filter Forge

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I selected two photographs from our garden taken with my Canon XTi Rebel. I applied the same techniques for my High Contrast images. I opened from Picasa 3 to PhotoPaint.

There I applied the Local Equalization and subsequently the Tone Curve plus I increased the saturation. I used Filter Forge's Photo Effects Vibrance on both images for more punch. Then I added a film frame to both from Filter Forge's frames Freepack.

I really like the resulting images using these techniques. They are soft, and harsh at the same time, vibrant and subdued as well.

Listening --- Outkast --- Hey Ya

Rose Leaf Rag - Vintage Typography and Art Deco Design - PhotoPaint

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A simple Art Deco background with some Vintage Typography and a couple of scanned in drop caps is in today's image.

I took the background from my Dover Clip Art collection and added to it a front piece of Scott Joplin's Rose Leaf Rag sheet music. I added a couple in vintage clothing that appear to be dancing together.

I adjusted the color with the Tone Curve and upped the saturation. Then I added a border as a small mat and a frame using the wand to select the secondary border. I applied the 3D Bevel to the second border for the framing.

I saved the file for presentation here with my signature.

Listening --- The Alan Parson's Project --- Old And Wise

1986 Vintage Face - Painter 11 - PhotoPaint

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I took an old 1986 advertisement with a woman's face and opened PhotoPaint to scan it in. I used 150dpi and the size was almost 8"x11". Using the eraser I cleaned up the image of any text or other artifacts.

In PhotoPaint I applied the Image> Transform> Threshold to make the scan black and white. I saved the large file. I opened Painter 11 and created a new blank 8"x10" image file. I use File> Place> to import the face into a layer.

I opened a new layer and filed it with a burgundy color and selected the face layer. I used the property Multiply to make the white transparent. I used some watercolor brushes to paint on the watercolor layer and added color around the eyes and shadows for the under the cheekbones.

Using some Ink brushes I added color to the whites of the eyes and painted designs on the face. After that I chose a splattery watercolor brush, switched to the watercolor layer and applied some strokes around the outlined lips.

I added texture using the Apply Surface Texture Effect to the entire image. I upped the saturation a bit for the current colors boost.

I used File> Place> again for a Celtic design asymmetrical frame, from my Dover Clip Art, and erased away the center white area and some of the design covering the one eye. I applied another composite layer property for transparency. I early on had saved the image as a riff file.

Now I cloned the whole image and dropped all layers to one and saved as a large jpg file. I added my signature and resampled for the web. Saving that file as a jpg.

Listening --- Keane --- Everybody's Changing

Within Walking Distance - High Contrast - PhotoPaint - Filter Forge

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Less words and more images, all these photographs were taken today. I grabbed my Canon XTi Rebel DSLR and took a walk. All of these images were a short walk from my studio. I applied my High Contrast images workflow to these, as has been described in previous posts, if interested look for "High Contrast" in the tag cloud and select it.

Listening --- Children playing, boats and jet skis on the Lake --- Wonderful day

Art Deco with Bauhaus 93 Typography - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint

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I received in my inbox today some Dover Publications Samples. Among them were these great Art Deco designs. I opened my Dover sampler folder after saving them and selected four designs. I opened PhotoPaint and from Picasa 3 I copied and pasted them. From PhotoPaint I adjusted the individual pieces and then opened CorelDRAW.

I placed each image in the new graphic document. I then selected the typeface Bauhaus 93 for my typography. I merely spelled out Art Deco and selected bright colors for the letters. I outlined each with a complimentary color to make them stand out a bit more.

I selected the rectangle tool and placed one behind all the Art Deco pieces and Bauhaus 93 text. I added the phrase "typography Bauhaus 93," in a small size to name the typeface used.

I selected all the pieces and grouped them together and copied to the clipboard. Back in PhotoPaint I opened with File> New from Clipboard>. This gave me a 6" x 9" 300dpi graphic of the grouped pieces. I added my signature, saved the large file as a jpg, then resampled to display here.

Listening --- Jethro Tull --- Part of the Machine

A Journey Called Collage - Lesson #4 - Corel Painter 11

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My taking the course A Journey Called Collage at Digital Art Academy afforded me a chance to learn more of the functions of Corel Painter 11. I thoroughly enjoyed this self-paced class and was rewarded with new knowledge.

I selected to do a Self-portrait collage as my final piece and that is what I am displaying today. I used many layers and textures for this piece in Painter. I also used composite ways to place the images in place.

Since I am a guitar player the guitar was included as a backdrop and in the images used. If you want to know the techniques, you'll have to take the class!

We lost my boyhood images in a fire so I used images from 1969, the year I graduated from High School which is far back enough, and more recent photographs.

Tweet this if you like the results, and come and visit gatzkART! often and view and read about my Digital Visual Art and Music.

Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka --- Art for Arts Sake

Vintage Dresses - Vectors - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint

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A Vintage plus Vector graphic image is the focus of today's piece. I opened Picasa 3 and browsed my recent pictures and found a catalog display of some vintage dresses from my Dover Sampler. I took the image and opened in PhotoPaint and applied the Image> Transform> Threshold> to create the black and white base image.

I duplicated the image and filled it with red. I then took the back and white image and copied and pasted it to the red filled background. Applying the property Multiply I got rid of the white and merged the two together.

Once I had the red and black piece I copied to the clipboard, opened CorelDRAW and pasted it into a new landscape workspace. I used the freehand drawing tool to create the first yellow curve. I adjusted the curve with the bezier tool to make it more uniform.

I then duplicated it once, shrank it down to size to fit within the other curve then using duplicate I created the other curves automatically. I added the yellow orb and grouped them all together. I duplicated that grouping and rotated it to fit the opposite corner.

I grouped the entire image and copied it to the clipboard. switching to PhotoPaint I opened it with File> New from Clipboard>, added my name and copyright in Arial Rounded MT Bold.

I deliberately kept the image simple using only bright colors to make the black fashion standout. I saved the larger image and resampled for display here.

Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka --- Hello, Hello

More Typography Play - A Clean Page - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint

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I've been reading about Typography quite a bit lately. So I made up this image for display. I opened CorelDRAW and used some grunge fonts for the text. I copied them to the clipboard and pasted them into a large file in PhotoPaint.

There I used the Effects> Distort> Wet Paint to add the dripping. I used splatters to mess up the page even further applying the Wet Paint to them as well.

I wanted a messy page that had some humor to it thus the Clean Page phrasing. I kept it minimal in it's presentation using only a bit of design work. I saved the large file, resampled for display here with my signature.

Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka --- Blues Fun One

Floral Style Women's Dress and Floral - Painter 11 - Digital Collage

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Short post today as it's been one of those days. I started this image in Picasa 3 Dover Clip Art folder. I selected the Floral background and opened with Painter 11. I resized the canvas to an 8" X 6" 150dpi image to work with. I browsed through more Dover clip art for the pictures of differing styles of women's dresses.

I found two pattern pieces One from Advance and the other from McCall's and placed them into the floral. I found another group of stylish women's fashions and placed that as well. I fit the pieces to the floral background using the layer property Multiply. This allowed for transparency of the differing pieces and I dropped all the layers. I then Applied Surface Texture a paper texture to the whole image, lightening it enough to show but not overwhelm.

I saved the large file and resampled in PhotoPaint adding a border, boosted the color saturation, and added my signature.

Listening --- Jeremy Fryc --- if you put two v's close enough together they make a w

High Contrast - Front Garden - PhotoPaint - Filter Forge

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Our Front Garden is looking very pretty with the current blossoms and our stone walkway. I got out the Canon XTi and took some photographs of it yesterday. Today I decided to share one with all of you.

I opened the folder in Picasa 3 and selected this view, rotated it and cropped it slightly. In PhotoPaint I used the Tone Curve to add some depth. Then I applied the Local Equalization tool for a High Contrast piece. I used the Tone Curve again and upped the saturation by 15 boosting the color.

I applied Filter Forge's Photo Effects Vibrance for some extra punch to the overall color. Then I used a film frame from Filter Forge's frames Freepack.

I saved the large file and then resampled for display on the blog.

Listening --- The Beatles --- Octopus' Garden

Some Typography Play in CorelDRAW and Painter 11

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I've been looking at a lot of Typography Art lately and was compelled to play with some. I opened CorelDRAW and created the image above. I used some very basic typefaces and tried to make as interesting an image as possible with them. I worked in black and white for the greater part of the image creation and used the Polyline tool for the black design in the lower right hand corner.

I grouped the entire image together then copied it to the clipboard and pasted it into PhotoPaint and converted it to a jpg. Saving the large file I opened it with Painter 11, creating a new layer and filled it with the golden yellow background. I switched to the beginning image layer and used the property Multiply for transparency. Switching back I added paper texture to the colored layer, then dropped all to merge the layers. I again saved the large file to resample in PhotoPaint for display here.

Listening --- to the birds outside my windows --- beautiful

A Journey Called Collage - Acoustic Guitars - Music - Painter 11

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In taking the course at Digital Arts Academy, A Journey Called Collage, I am learning to use Painter 11 techniques for digital collage. Yesterday's collage was based on guitars and so is today's piece.

This is based upon Lesson 3 of the class. Using Layer Masking for a portion of the work. I used photographs of my own guitars and turned one into a pencil like style for the main focus.

I added music and texture to the piece painting on layers, masked and otherwise, with the Chalk brush. I made special paper textures for this image of both acoustic guitars and a piece of Dover Clip Art of sheet music. I kept the color scheme ocher oriented.

I also added with the property Multiply a painted guitar which I placed into the image and copied and pasted three times. I added a thin frame from Filter Forge's frames. The original image is 8" X 10" at 150dpi, I resampled for display here.

Listening --- The Early November --- Ever So Sweet

Textured Acoustic Guitars - Painter 11 - PhotoPaint

Today's image began in Painter 11 where I created some guitar textures and painted them in with a Chalk brush. I selected various colors and also inverted the textures at times. I also used some other custom textures to add interest. The original size of this piece is 8" X 10" at 150dpi.

I saved this large file of textured background and reopened in PhotoPaint. From Picasa 3 folders I selected some guitar photographs (of my own) and applied Little Ink Pot's Thredgeholder for a sketchy look and feel. I resized as I saw fit. I used the property Multiply for transparency.

I repeated the use of the two dual Guitar photographs at differing sizes and color using the Replace Colors tool. I added the 12-string headstock using Multiply for transparency.

I placed a sixty pixel border on the large piece and using the wand I masked out the image and used the 3D Bevel tool for the framing. I resaved the large file. Then I resampled for display here after adding my signature.

Listening --- Steve Earle --- Guitar Town

Guitar Player and Guitars - Digital Collage - PhotoPaint - Picasa 3 - Flaming Pear

I'm venturing back into one of my favorite motifs in digital collage, that is the Guitar. Today's image is a collage done in Picasa 3 and PhotoPaint where I added together a Guitar Player and differing views of the same guitar piece.

I used Flaming Pear's filters on each Player and guitar image before I added them into a large collage in Picasa 3. I have an individual poster of the guitar player on my Zazzle store for sale and it has proved to be one of the favorites there.

He started out as a photograph that I used Little Ink Pot's Thredgeholder on and then in Painter painted with watercolor. I added him for a special touch to this collage.

I finished up by resampling to fit online and added a light film frame in Filter Forge's frames. The guitars are a Lyon 6-String and a Seagull 12-String in various angles and colors.

Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka --- Norwegian Wood Cover

Built up Textures - Design for Life Series - Painter - CorelDRAW

I started today's image in Corel Painter 11, I selected custom textures and some from Flaming Pear. I used the Variable Chalk brush and painted the textures, overlapping and created an 8" x 10" image.

I saved that image as a jpg and opened it in CorelDRAW. There I placed the text using Arial Rounded Bold. I extruded the text by 3 and that gave it some depth.

I added the quote from Will Rogers and balanced that with the "Design," text. I converted to bitmap and reopened in PhotoPaint as a 300dpi image.

Here I used the Tone Curve for depth and increased the saturation for a color boost.

Using Filter Forge's frames I added a film frame. I added my signature to complete the piece.

I am not certain how many more of the Design for Life series I am going to do. I did some Art Deco and Art Nouveau pieces. This one is more up to date image of the same theme.

Please feel free to share on Facebook or Twitter, and my Google +1 button in the upper left corner I appreciate any sharing you may do. Thank you.

Thank you as well to my followers and those of you on RSS or email feed and Twitter. We've passed the 15,000 plus pageviews and we appreciate your continued interest in gatzkART! up dates.


Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka --- Time

Design for Life - Live for Design - Art Deco - CorelDRAW - PhotoPaint

I opened CorelDRAW and scanned in two pieces of Art Deco from E. Benedictus' Art Deco Designs book to begin this image. I continued with my Design for Life and Live for Design motif for today's image. It's beginning size was approximately 7" x 8".

I adjusted the Tone curve and saturation of the colors. I used the typefaces A Bite, Basketcase, and 321Impact for the text. I looked for some interesting words for the text to include and opened a Text file named simply 98.txt.

To my surprise it was a Project Gutenberg text of a A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The opening words so aptly described the creative process, as it is an up and down roller-coaster at times, that I selected them for this piece. I saved the large file. Converted it to bitmap and reopened in PhotoPaint.

I added the ladies faces from some Dover Clip Art samples I found browsing my Dover folder in Picasa 3. They add some balance and a classy touch to the whole image.

I added a thirty pixel border of blue and my signature. Re-saved the large file and resampled for display here.

Listening --- Gordon Lightfoot --- The No Hotel [Live]